The Kitchen and Bath Industry Show West : Items for Two of Home’s Most Useful Rooms Becoming More Sophisticated

Anyone who had been to the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show West exposition this last weekend would agree the theme was eclectic and the mode upscale. (Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the event was sponsored by the National Kitchen and Bath Assn.) The giant showroom displayed kitchen and bath products that reflected a trend towards a more sophisticated, high end market. With women working and adding to more disposable income, plus the ongoing trend of cocooning, the home--particularly kitchens and baths--continues to be given more investment focusing.

Lush classic styling was evidenced by wide presence of stone, whether it be real marble and granite or the stone look found in laminates and synthetic slabs, which abounded in countertops. Appliance and cabinet colors were refreshing, clean and optimistic. Basic hues were dominated by neutrals and whites, complemented with splashy accessory accents of teals, Chinese reds, golds and deep rich greens.

There was not a hint of any resurgence of avocado, harvest gold and coffee themes that were popular in the ‘60s. And definitely out were earth-tone motifs predominant in the ‘70s. Coming back, however, were some of the lines and curves of the ‘50s and the pleasing romantic styles of country French.

Concentrating in the field of kitchens, which has now become an arena of creative attention for interior designers and architects, the following show sampling provides you some of the upcoming and newer kitchen appliances and accessories in the market today:

Dishwashers are not just becoming quieter, some of the all-white models are trying hard to be inconspicuous. Miele Appliances from West Germany designed its silent Super Electronic Dishwasher with a separate third-tiered rack for silverware and cutlery. This prevents the individual utensils from being scratched by washing cycles or by the other dishes, pots and pans. Another ultra-quiet dishwasher operation comes from Thermador with its two new 5000 series models that come in choices of black or white door panels.

Noticeable in kitchen appliances were two opposite trends. One is the integrated look, that is, when appliances disappear with cabinetry; and the second is the trend toward appliances that tend to stick out in contrast by way of color or bulk. Examples of integrated designs include the GE Monogram series featuring a complete line of built-in appliances that can be customized with similar cabinet panels, the new built-in refrigerators from Amana and KitchenAid.

The opposite trend includes commercial appliances now modified for residential use such as the Traulsen refrigeration systems and the Wolf range. If you want a decorative object of focus in the kitchen, certainly a strong one is the beautiful la Cuisiniere a la Francaise from La Cornue of France. Up to $15,000 per stove, the La Cornue is considered the Rolls-Royce of stoves. It’s available in bold French or Azulejo blue, red, white, gray or black with brass and brass nickel chrome trims. Old-fashioned stove lovers will fall for the Elmira Stove from Canada that was patterned from the classic wood-burning model. Equipped with modernized burners and hood elements, the charming stove comes in gas or electric.

The cleaner translucent look in cooktops comes from a revolutionary cooking surface now widely used for cast iron hob tops, gas and electric burners. Scratch and stain resistant, the white or black European Ceran Glass Ceramic panels from Schott, West Germany, lend themselves to efficient heat transfer.

Also appropriately employing the ceramic glass system in black is the quartz halogen cooking system, which is starting to be manufactured by more and more companies. Designed to give rapid on and off heat, this unique energy saving system features red-glowing quartz halogen lamps (vacuum sealed quartz glass tubes filled with halogen gas). Initially introduced by Gaggenau in this country, the halogen cooking system is now being offered by Creda (subsidiary of General Electric Co. of England) with its Solarspeed Ceramic Hobs and Amana with its InstaGlow cooking system. Forthcoming next summer is the Blanco Halogen Cooktop from West Germany.

In kitchen countertops, there was rampant display of solid surfaces, with the stone look taking the big lead. Although brightly colored tiles were part of the show, smooth tops attracted more attention from designers and retailers. A special blend of natural minerals and high performance acrylic, Corian by DuPont has been highly accepted for its easy maintenance and nonporous solid structure. The company displayed fabrication suggestions of curved edging as well as artistically integrating Corian with wood, tile or metals like brass. Another nonporous surfacing material is Fountainhead by Nevamar that offers nine colors, including a lustrous looking marbleized green. The company also just introduced Vitricor, which features a highly polished lacquered appearance for tops and cabinet facings as well.

In laminated countertop sheets, Formica Corp. is getting serious attention with Boomerang, a product that depicts the playful line designs of the ‘50s. Popularly used in diners with chrome edging, the sheets come in Grecian blue, rose, white and charcoal gray. Both Formica and Nevamar displayed imitation marble and granite laminates. Like Corian, the look encouraged was the wrap up appearance or curved edge.

Plumbing fixtures have also become designer oriented. Faucets draw attention in their bold palettes of reds, yellows, black and brass or gold or become inconspicuous in the sink system in white or ivory. What makes sense now are the single level operation systems such those from KWC or Hansgrohe.

Want to impress guests, save water as well or just be so lazy you can’t even turn a faucet knob? The ultimate function in faucet design is offered by the Contempra Automatic Faucet from Liparus Associates. It works by infrared sensing technology. If you place your hand or any object such as a toothbrush, glass, fruit, silverware under the faucet sensor, water will automatically flow. When the object is removed, the water flow ceases. For continuous flow, a small button at the head of the faucet may be pressed. Temperature may also be adjusted or preset at desired warmth.

An improvement in sinks is a new material that doesn’t crack, rust, stain or discolor. In addition, sinks now come in various configurations to enhance design and have innovative accessories such as rinsing baskets and cutting boards to help in food preparation. Examples are the Blanco Sinks from Western States Manufacturing and the Elkay Sinks from Illinois.

In cabinetry, great appeal comes from Euro-styling with frameless design, lacquered whites in both modern or classic lines as well as the white washed or pickled finish. Laminates have also been upscaled as in the curvaceous styling of Millbrook cabinetry from New York. Drawer and cabinet accessories such as various baskets, lazy susans were also displayed. Marked improvements were noticed in craftsmanship as shown by easy gliding drawers, skillfully joined assembly and wonderfully wipeable high-gloss finishes. Although contemporary straight lines were found appealing, much interest was garnered by traditional styled cabinets, some with embossed moldings.